March 2015 Income/Expenses

March 2015 Income/Expenses

It’s payday tomorrow which means time for this month’s Income/Expenses!

March seemed to fly by for me. I was working hard on a big project at work whilst also trying to keep an eye on lowering that grocery bill. No major one-off expenses this month and only a couple of meals out with friends. The homebrew was finished and despite being a bit flat.. was very tasty with some lemonade added in. The great result from this is absolutely 0 spend on beer!  This experience of ‘make your own’ has got me thinking about perhaps looking into growing some of our food items. I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who grows anything of their own, especially if you do it within an urban environment.

Google Analytics tells me we’ve had 5,200 pageviews from 1,1152 users. A huge increase from last month in users and especially pleased to see the big pageview increase which shows people are staying to look through a few different posts. I know a couple of sites and blogs have recently linked to or mentioned EarlyRetirementGuy.com so a big thank you to everyone that has and an even bigger welcome to any new visitors. Seeing the numbers increase fills me with confidence that others are interested and approving of the journey I’m on and encourages me to keep going.

 

On to the report:

Income

Salary: £1995.31

Pension Contributions: £506

Lottery Win: £25

Total: £2526.31 (-1.7%)

 

Expenses

Mortgage/Bills: £718.01

Groceries: £185.16

Petrol (Gas):  £20

Maintainance/DIY: £0

Eating out: £70.63

Healthcare: £18.5

Entertainment: £46.38

Other: £11.17

Total: £1069.85 (-21.22%)

 

A pretty standard month for income. HMRC are STILL trying to figure out my tax code and have sent another 6 different ones through the post. Expenses massively down this month due to greatly reduced ‘other’ category from no major one-off costs and lowering the grocery bill by £60.45. A combination of some food saving techniques and £0 beer spend. I’m really pleased with this month and looking forward to next; I can’t think of any major expenses coming in so should hopefully be able to keep up the momentum.

A savings difference of £1456.46 which is 57.7%.

 

Networth

House Equity:  £28,793.54

Cash in bank: £3,496.40

ISA Investments: £4,864.03

Pension: £18,814.37

Total Networth: £55,968.34 (+3.6%)

 

Smashing through that 50% savings barrier coupled with a decent month for pension and ISA investments have seen a good networth increase for this month.

 

 

12 thoughts on “March 2015 Income/Expenses

    1. Thanks ADD! The plan has always been to pay off the mortgage in 10 years and then boost the savings rate massively after that. I think 15 years will be a bit tight but I’m still mid-20s so plenty of time left to beat my parent’s retirement age of 49.

  1. Hi Guy,

    Congratulations on many fronts. First of all, great news on the £0 beer spend. What I love about this type of challenge is not just the potential ‘hardship’ (I say that loosely in this area) of depriving yourself of something, but it’s the way it makes you think afterwards. You’re now challenging your thoughts on spending and growing your own food. Cracking stuff!

    More great news on the Blogging front. You have some solid viewing numbers already, and I personally enjoy your content and writing style. Keep up the good work!

    I believe anything over 50% saving rate is great and no doubt you’ll continue to improve on that further over the months and years.

    Bring on the next quarter!

    Cheers
    Huw

    1. Thanks Huw,

      Looking over the visitor numbers its obvious theres a huge majority to read a few pages but never comment or email.. so it’s good to hear from people like yourself who give the positive feedback.

    1. Interestingly I’ve had a relatively decent return on this. Not enough to cover the costs but at £2 a week it’s a small price I’m willing to pay for the entertainment it gives me. Plus the week I stop will be the week my numbers come up and then I’d have to go throw myself onto the M4 :D

  2. Really nice work, Guy, on all fronts!

    That is a great way of reducing your beer expenses. If I had more space it would be the first thing I would give a try!

    Since I have started consistently looking at my expenses I have noticed I have managed to get my savings rate to about 55% which is pretty good. It really makes a difference doesn’t it!

    Keep up the good work!

  3. Hi Guy

    Hey, I still play the lotto too – £2 per week is cheap entertainment and like you, I’ve been playing for so long that I feel that I ‘must be in it to win it’! Unlike you though, I’ve not won anything lately, although I’ve been winning the football predictions at work so have been chucking those winnings into my investment pot.

    Spending zero on beer is great, isn’t it? Since I started homebrewing 6 months ago, I haven’t bought any beer (or other alcohol) as part of my grocery shopping and it’s made a difference in my spending Am hoping I’m going to have time this Easter weekend to put my next brew on!

    1. You must be due a big win soon then Weenie! ;)

      Im a big fan of the homebrewing now, its much easier than I initially thought and the savings are noticeable. I’ve almost finished the first batch so time to put on the 2nd!

  4. Hey Guy,

    Fantastic savings rate, keep up the good work! Funny about HMRC, I wonder if you’ll get a decent tax rebate if they’ve fluffed up your tax as many times as they’ve given you new tax codes?!

    CHEERS

    1. Hello M,

      I’ve no idea what HMRC are playing at. Been on the phone to them several times and thought we had everything sorted.. then 2 weeks later get another (incorrect) code. Should get the P60 through soon so that will make things much easier to work out.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *